HEADLINES

Nate Wozniak

Saints To Sign TE A.J. Derby

August 7th, 2019 at 10:17am CST by Dallas Robinson

The Saints are expected to sign free agent tight end A.J. Derby, according to Herbie Teope of The Advocate (Twitter link). Offensive lineman Nate Wozniak will be waived in a corresponding move.

New Orleans currently has six tight ends on its roster, but two of them — Garrett Griffin and Alize Mack — are dealing with injuries, so the club is aiming to add a bit more depth by bringing Derby onto the roster. Veteran Jared Cook, who inked a two-year, $15MM contract with the Saints during the offseason, will be the team’s starter, but Josh Hill should still see a relatively large role after playing on more than 60% of New Orleans’ offensive snaps in 2018.

Derby, 27, has bounced around the NFL since entering the league as a Patriots sixth-round pick in 2015. The Arkansas product’s most significant action came in 2017, when he racked up 21 catches on 40 targets while splitting time between the Broncos and Dolphins. Last season, Derby appeared in four games and managed three receptions for Miami before being placed on injured reserve in December.

Saints Sign Six Players To Futures Deals

January 21st, 2019 at 3:39pm CST by Zachary Links

The Saints’ season is officially in the books, which means that it’s on to the offseason for New Orleans. To kick things off, the Saints signed the following six practice squad players to reserve/futures deals:

Barrett has been jockeyed on and off of the Saints’ practice squad all year. Over the weekend, Barrett was signed to the Saints’ taxi squad for the 13th time this season. In total, he was involved in a whopping 25 transactions during the 2018 campaign and was released 12 times. Barrett frequently switched placed with wide receiver Paul Turner, but there’s no word yet on whether Turner will be retained via a futures contract.

Sankey, 25 in October, appeared in six games for the Colts last season. This year, he did not see live action for the Saints, but he was on the scout team for most of the year.

Wozniak, a tight end at the University of Minnesota, was signed as a UDFA last year. The Saints moved the 6’10” prospect over to offensive tackle and they’re hoping he’ll be able to use his size and length to his advantage.